April 30, 2012

Despite incidence of mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy reported in California, the Philippines will not ban US beef, an Agriculture official said Thursday (Apr 26).

"The situation is not an outbreak," Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Livestock Davinio Catbagan said.

"The incident is a case that is far from creating mad cow havoc in the US or elsewhere. We issued an advisory to the consuming public that US cattle beef is still safe for human consumption."

In an update submitted to Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Catbagan said the Philippines "only imports beef from negligible BSE risk and BSE-controlled risk countries such the US and Brazil."

He said the beef was free from materials that could harbour mad cow disease.

The Agriculture Department on Thursday said the international animal health office had not yet published any warnings on US beef.

Catbagan said the infected animal detected in a milking farm in California had been isolated and would be destroyed. The Philippines imports angus beef and frozen rib-eye beef from the US, the country's fourth largest supplier.

Of the 16 million tonnes of beef imported in 2011, the US supplied slightly over three million tonnes. Also on Thursday, the Agriculture Department lifted the six-year ban on poultry and other poultry products including semen from Austria.

The Philippines lifted that ban after a confirmation from the Office International des Epizooties that Austria is now free from the deadly avian influenza. The department imposed the ban in 2006.